CLEBC - Courses On Demand

Employment Law Conference 2025: Combo

Course Date: May 1, 2025

Full Course Materials

Total: 12h 12min

Total Ethics: 2h 34min

Day 1: Thursday, May 1, 2025

Course Introduction and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:15)

Genevieve Chang (she/her) — Program Lawyer, CLEBC, Vancouver

Valerie Dixon (she/her) — City of Vancouver, Vancouver
James D. Kondopulos (he/him) — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver

One Size Does Not Fit All: A Comparative Analysis of the Interpretation and Treatment of Termination Provisions Across Canadian Jurisdictions (9:15 – 10:10)

a cross-jurisdictional comparative analysis of the different provincial requirements to create a valid and enforceable termination provision
overview of Egan v. Harbour Air Seaplanes LLP, 2024 BCCA 222 decision and any recent treatment
a comparative analysis on the interpretation and treatment of termination provisions limiting notice across Canada
best practices for drafting enforceable termination provisions across Canada

Kristen Shaw (she/they) — McMillan LLP, Vancouver
Claire Wanhella (she/her) — McMillan LLP, Vancouver

Employment Standards Branch Update (10:10 – 11:00)

legislative updates
program updates
ESB's new ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) process
case law of note

Mary Walsh (she/her) — Executive Director, Employment Standards Branch, Richmond
Michael Thompson (he/him) — Decision Maker/Team Leader, Employment Standards Branch, Richmond

BREAK (11:00 – 11:15)

Refining the Line: An Update on Sexual Misconduct in the Workplace (11:15 – 12:10)

overview of socio-legal considerations/frameworks
review of recent case law on sexual misconduct in the workplace, including
- just cause
- constructive dismissal
- injury claims
- remedies/venues
practical tips for both employee and employer side-counsel

Navpreet Chhina (she/her) — Inlet Employment Law, Port Moody
Nazanin Panah (she/her) — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver

NETWORKING LUNCH (provided to in-person registrants) (12:10 – 1:10)

When Utilizing the "Capital Punishment" of Employment Law Goes Horribly Wrong: Improper Use of Just Cause Can Lead to Contract Enforceability Issues and Bad Faith Damages (1:10 – 2:00)

current state of the law post-Waksdale
review of recent case law on just cause and bad faith/aggravated damages including:
- misrepresentation
- attacks on social/business reputation and defamation
- unfair litigation strategy or use/abuse of superior resources
consequences of improper use or overly broad definitions of just cause in employment agreements
review of the law on bad faith in relation to insincere just cause positions, and bad faith damages more generally

Ian Jung (he/him) — Ascent Employment Law Corporation, Vancouver
Glen Stratton (he/him) — Ascent Employment Law Corporation, Vancouver
Veronica Ukrainetz (she/her) — Ascent Employment Law Corporation, Kelowna

When Your Residential Tenant is Also Your Employee (2:00 – 2:35)

review of basic residential tenancy law for employment lawyers
review of legal protections for residential caretakers and caretakers who do not live onsite
overlap between residential tenancy and employment law:
- common employer: owners, landlords, and property managers
- terminating residential caretakers and evicting them
- terminating caretakers who don't live onsite
case law highlights

Paula Krawus (she/her) — PortaLaw, Vancouver
Oscar Miklos (he/him) — Refresh Law, Burnaby

BREAK (2:35 – 2:50)

The Privileges of Employment Law (2:50 – 3:40)

categories of privilege in employment law cases, including:
- solicitor-client privilege
- litigation privilege (solicitor's brief privilege)
- settlement/negotiation privilege
waivers of privilege (voluntary, implied, inadvertent)
examples of privilege facing the practicing employment lawyer, including:
- PIPA and FIPPA requests
- in the union setting
- in investigations process
- in pleadings in overlapping actions
tips for the ethical and practical application of privilege in the employment law context

Sarah Hentschel (she/her) — Watson Goepel LLP, Vancouver
Kelley Cho (she/her) — Watson Goepel LLP, Vancouver

Privacy Potpourri for the Employment Lawyer (3:40 – 4:30)

privacy issues that arise in the workplace, and provide guidance on best practices to address each, whether advising employers or employees, including:
- why employers should have a policy addressing AI, what should be in it, and whether using ChatGPT to help draft it is (or should be) offside that policy
- balancing privacy obligations to safeguard personal information with disclosure obligations in legal proceedings or under an access for information request
- the risks and realities of surreptitious recordings in the workplace, practical takeaways from Shalagin v. Mercer Calgary Limited Partnership, 2023 BCCA 373
- what a "reasonable expectation of privacy" looks like in the workplace, unpacking the SCC's decision in York Region District School Board v. Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, 2024 SCC 22
- best practices for collecting personal information for inclusion, diversity and equity initiatives or requirements, including pay transparency reporting

Richard B. Johnson (he/him) — Ascent Employment Law Corporation, Vancouver
Victoria Merritt (she/her) — Dentons Canada LLP, Vancouver

Reception (Pan Pacific Hotel) (4:30 – 6:30), hosted by:

Day 2: Friday, May 2, 2025

Welcome (9:00 – 9:10)

Valerie Dixon (she/her) — City of Vancouver, Vancouver
James D. Kondopulos (he/him) — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver

Developments in Jurisdiction: Disparate Employment Claims and the Common Law (9:10 – 10:00)

developments in the law with respect to unions and wrongful dismissal claims
- the "Weber" analysis
- the "Viking" test in the context of "vague" collective agreements
developments in the law regarding personal injury claims and WCAT
- the distinction between injury claims and punitive damages claims
- a judge's discretion, and s. 311 Applications under the Workers' Compensation Act
jurisdiction and territorial competence:
- striking claims based on jurisdictional competence may mirror territorial competence: the evidentiary threshold is "not high"
- the effect of these developments on pre-trial applications

Micah Goldberg (he/him) — Watson Goepel LLP, Vancouver
Sean Tevlin (he/him) — Tevlin Gleadle Curtis Employment Law Strategies, Vancouver

Navigating Workplace Investigations (10:00 – 11:00)

strategic considerations for counsel and investigators in bullying and harassment complaints
- threshold issues, including alternatives, procedures and non-standard complaints
- during the investigation: new allegations, difficult witnesses, and role of counsel
- post-investigation: reports, restoration of workplace, and evidence issues

Maggie Campbell (she/her) — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver
Brooke Finkelstein (she/her) — West Coast Workplace Law, Richmond
Kirsten Hume Scrimshaw (she/her) — Ally Workplace Law, North Vancouver
Leanne M. Walsh (she/her) — West Coast Workplace Law, Richmond

BREAK (11:00 – 11:15)

WCAT Certification to Court Process and Mental Disorder Claims (11:15 – 12:10)

when do Certification to Court Applications arise?
why is there a limitation on personal injury claims against employers?
when do you need to make a Certification to Court Application?
what is the effect of the Certification to Court Application?
WorkSafeBC's interest in the Certification to Court process
WCAT's framework for making determinations in a Certification to Court
review of recent cases where Certification to Court was sought
future of Certifications to Court and relation to mental disorder claims
speaking of mental disorder claims…a discussion of Pickering

Johanna Goosen (she/her) — Acting Director of Litigation, WorkSafeBC, Richmond
Dallan Poulin (he/him) — Roper Greyell LLP, Victoria
Brittany Therrien (she/her) — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver

LUNCH (12:10 – 1:45) with Featured Speakers: Navigating the Practice of Employment Law: Insights, Experiences, and Best Practices (at 12:40)

Anita Atwal (she/her) — Anita Atwal Law Corporation, Surrey
Valerie Dixon (she/her) — City of Vancouver, Vancouver
Nazeer T. Mitha, KC (he/him) — Mitha Law Corporation, Vancouver

Restrictive Covenants in Employment Contracts (1:45 – 2:35)

update on how restrictive covenants in BC employment contracts have been addressed, especially given recent amendments to Ontario's Employment Standards Act
when are restrictive covenants valid (what geographical/temporal scope has been found to be reasonable and why)
how damages are assessed for breach of a non-competition or non-solicitation covenant

Salim Visram (he/him) — Dentons Canada LLP, Vancouver
Eleni Kassaris (she/her) — Dentons Canada LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (2:35 – 2:50)

Liability for Providing Negative Reference (2:50 – 3:20)

liability for defamation arising from negative job references
requirements to establish qualified privilege
limits on qualified privilege when a reference is not listed by the candidate
impact of informal references on defamation liability
defining malice in the context of negative job references
employer obligations when responding to reference requests

Fred Wynne (he/him) — Tevlin Gleadle Curtis Employment Law Strategies, Vancouver
Spencer Sloane (he/him) — Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, Vancouver

Case Law Update (3:20 – 4:20)

key cases
analysis and trends
effects on practice

Sebastian Chern (he/him) — Ascent Employment Law Corporation, Vancouver
Eric Ito (he/him) — Cooperwilliams Truman & Ito LLP, Vancouver
Fiona McFarlane (she/her) — Kane Shannon & Weiler LLP, Surrey
Cameron R. Wardell (he/him) — Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark LLP, Vancouver

Closing Comments (4:20 – 4:30)

Valerie Dixon (she/her) — City of Vancouver, Vancouver
James D. Kondopulos (he/him) — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver